The Good Part Is Over
by ParkerFloyd
Summary: Part one in my Kurtty series. Kurt resolves to let go of Kitty and get over her. Kitty realizes she may be losing a great friendship. R/R? Tell me how I do? Want some more Kurtty? FINISHED.
1. Author's Note

Hello everyone.  
  
I just wanted everyone to know that the story you're about to read is part of a collection that tell one full story. They go in this order:  
  
The Good Part Is Over  
  
Welcome Home  
  
Change of Heart  
  
Ever After  
  
They're all completed now. Hope you enjoy them.  
  
Anyhow, I would also like to thank everyone for reviewing. You guys and girls are great. I didn't even know how much encouragement I could gain from them. Thank you for reading, and I hope that you all like the story. 


	2. Defeated

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men.  
  
Notes: Okay, so this is the prequel to "Welcome Home." Sorry I'm doing this backwards, but, jeez, I have to set up some stuff for the sequels to "Welcome Home." Also, JDH3, thanks for all your reviews. You rock. And everyone else who reviewed and liked my first fanfic, I hope you enjoy this one as well. By the way, if anyone else wants to write some Kurtty, I wouldn't mind. I think I've read all of them.  
  
Another note: Kitty seems a bit cruel here, I'm afraid. Don't worry, she'll see the error of her ways.  
  
Yet another note: I gave Kurt a sword. None of the Evolution episodes I've seen have him with a sword, but that's a big character thing with him in the Uncanny X-Men comics, so I gave him one. If you don't like it, neener neener neener!  
  
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"Watch out, Kurt!" Evan screamed.  
  
Kurt looked over his shoulder and saw the tentacle coming at him. He 'ported, and the tentacle grabbed empty air. Suddenly, he appeared above it, and grabbed on. It went wild. It slammed into the wall, leaving a dent deep enough to sleep in. Kurt kept a hold on with one hand while pulling his sword from its sheath with his other. He twirled it over his hand, and then plunged it deep into the machine. It rolled up on itself, meaning to crush him. Instead he 'ported again to it's base, bringing his sword down in an arc that chopped it off from the rest of the machine. He didn't see the seeker 'bots behind him, though.  
  
Evan dropped low to the ground and shot at the seekers behind Kurt. They were impaled to the wall as Kurt 'ported behind Scott, grabbing him, and 'porting them away before a laser hit the ground where Scott had been standing. Scott and Kurt reappeared behind Kitty, and Scott took the laser gun out with his optic blast. Kitty ran on the air in front of her and phased through the master computer, shorting it out. Suddenly, every machine in the room froze, and then died.  
  
"Good session, kids." They heard, and then Logan walked into the room.  
  
"Thanks, Logan." They all said.  
  
"You're all learning to control your powers much better. But that's not what I'm so pleased with."  
  
"Then what are you so pleased with?" Kitty asked him.  
  
"I'm pleased with how well you are all working together. That was the best team work I've ever seen from you guys."  
  
"I guess we're just becoming closer. Ya know, caring about each other like family." Evan said.  
  
Kurt 'ported next to where Kitty was standing, and put his arm around her.  
  
"Ja! Ve all care about each other very much!" Kurt joked. He looked at Kitty and winked.  
  
"Like, go away!" Kitty yelled, and Kurt 'ported behind Logan, peeking at her from over his shoulder, looking as if he really feared Kitty.  
  
"Vell, at least SOME of us care!" Kurt yelled back at her, and then quickly ducked behind Logan.  
  
"I'll be up in my room." Kitty said, and then stormed off. She phased through the ceiling, toward the top part of the mansion.  
  
"Vell, my ears may vork for her, but ze rest must not." Kurt said.  
  
"Easy Elf, she's still getting used to you." Said Logan.  
  
"Ja, I know." He smiled sadly, and 'ported away. Kurt had 'ported to the door of Kitty's room. He was planning on apologizing to her, and was about to knock on the door, when he heard her talking to someone.  
  
"She must be on ze phone." He thought. She must have been very upset, because he could hear her through the door.  
  
"It's just so annoying. He always chasing me around, disappearing and reappearing next to me. He's ALWAYS flirting with me. It just makes me so uncomfortable. No, Lance. I don't want him hurt." She was saying.  
  
"Mein Gott! She's talking to Lance about me?!?" Kurt thought.  
  
"No Lance!" Kitty yelled, and then giggled. "Leave him alone! If he doesn't let up, I'll just go talk to the professor about him."  
  
Kurt backed away from the door. He suddenly felt as if he was going to throw up. A single tear fell from his right eye as we walked down the hall, towards the stairs, and away from her door. When he was far enough away so that she wouldn't hear or smell it, he teleported up to his room. When he appeared there, he laid down on his bed.  
  
"She vas laughing vhen Lance told her he'd hurt me." He said aloud.  
  
He hadn't realized how his infatuation with Kitty had annoyed her so. He hadn't realized how uncomfortable it made her. Most of the time he was with her, he was only trying to make her laugh, trying to make her feel comfortable around him. He knew now that it hadn't worked. And he knew what he had to do.  
  
"I'll leave her alone from now on." He thought. "No more Kurt for Kitty." And with that, he fell asleep on his bed, the tears drying on his pillow.  
  
The next day, Kitty had problems waking up for school. She laid in bed, wondering what was wrong, knowing that something was strange. Something was different. She thought about it, and then realized what it was while she was getting dressed.  
  
"Kurt didn't teleport in here to make certain that I was awake." She thought.  
  
Kurt had taken to teleporting into her room with a glass of orange juice to wake her up. It was their morning ritual. He would shake her awake, offer her the juice, and she would yell at him to get out. He would laugh and tickle her, and she'd chase him out of the room.  
  
"Well, at least it would wake me up." She thought, and then yawned.  
  
When she was done getting dressed, she walked down to the kitchen. Scott, Evan, and Rogue were already eating. Kitty sat down in the nook to eat her breakfast.  
  
"Morning, Kitty." Evan said.  
  
"Good morning. Where's Kurt? He wasn't around to annoy me today, thank God." She said.  
  
"He left earlier this morning." Said Scott. "He left with Jean about twenty minutes ago."  
  
"Lord, ah'd love to hear that conversation." Rogue said. "Jean talkin about herself, and Kurt talkin about." Rogue trailed off, looking at Kitty.  
  
"Hey! Jean's not that into herself." Scott said.  
  
"Scott, if she were any more into herself, she'd be pregnant with her clone." Evan joked.  
  
Scott turned to Evan while Rogue laughed.  
  
"I'm just kidding, Scott." Evan laughed. "Don't kill me."  
  
"Is everyone ready to go?" Scott asked, a little too loudly.  
  
Everyone said yes, and the troupe walked to Scott's car.  
  
When everyone got to school, Kitty said bye and walked to class. She passed Lance in the hall, kissing him on the cheek. As she was walking to her class before the bell rang, she saw Kurt walking toward her. He was looking a book that he was holding. When he looked up and saw her walking toward him, he looked back down and took a right into the restroom. Kitty stopped for a moment, looking at the space that Kurt had just left.  
  
"Was that on purpose? Oh well. At least he won't hold me up on my way to class." She thought.  
  
Kurt stopped walking as soon as the bathroom door closed. He put his back to the door, and waited until he was sure that she had walked by. He was sure that she had seen him. She couldn't have NOT seen him.  
  
"I vonder vhat she zought. Nein, Kurt! No zinking of Kitty. I must do vhat I can to get over her, and leave her alone." He thought.  
  
Later, at lunch, Kitty felt that something else was wrong. She looked around, and couldn't see Kurt.  
  
"Where is he?" she wondered.  
  
"Hey, Scott, have you seen.?" Kitty began to ask. But just as she was about to finish her question, Lance walked outside with his lunch. She smiled, stood up with her food, and walked over to meet him. Kurt watched this from inside the cafeteria. He was sitting at a table, eating lunch with his friends from the gymnastics team. As he watched Kitty with Lance, his heart broke more, and his resolve to let her go hardened.  
  
After school, Kurt stayed behind. He had no danger room session or chores assigned to him for the day. So he stayed at school in the library, studying. He still, however, could not get Kitty out of his head. He put his head in his hands, and rubbed his eyes.  
  
"Zis is horrible." Kurt said.  
  
Kitty was sitting at home, watching television. She looked around the room. Evan was skateboarding, Rogue was listening to music in their room, Jean was sleeping, and Scott was in the danger room, training. It seemed like he was always training.  
  
"Like, doesn't he ever get tired?" Kitty thought.  
  
She was wondering, once again, where Kurt was, when she heard a "bamf" outside the house. She turned her head around as he opened the front door. She was beginning to get ready for him to tease her, or 'port over and start tickling her. However, she got something else from him.  
  
"Hallo, Kitty." He said, and then walked right by the room.  
  
"He'll teleport in here and start bugging me in a minute." She thought. But then she heard his footsteps going up the stairs.  
  
"Any minute now." She thought. "After he puts his stuff in his room. He'll be down here, ANNOYING me."  
  
The moment never came. As soon as Kurt dropped his bag in his room, he teleported downstairs, ate something small for dinner (which is saying a lot as it's Kurt), and 'ported back up to his room. He laid on his bed, and fell asleep.  
  
Kitty began to feel drowsy. She looked at the clock. It had been two hours since he had been home. He hadn't said anything more than "Hallo" to her.  
  
"He'll be here." She thought. She woke up there, alone, the next morning.  
  
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So there's chapter one. Kitty seems like a bit of a b*tch, huh? Well, she had to be at first, right? Once again, this is the prequel to "Welcome Home." And it promises to be much longer. At least by a couple of chapters. Have a lot to say before "Welcome Home" happens. Hope you enjoyed it. 


	3. An Irate Kurt Vs The Danger Room

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men or X-Men: Evolution.  
  
Note: This chapter has a very long description of Kurt's training in the danger room. Sorry if it's too long, but I wanted to see how well I could write action. That, and I thought it would be a good way for Kurt to let off some steam. Oh, and he's a bad ass.  
  
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Kitty woke up and yawned. She noticed the time, and suddenly she was wide- awake. She jumped out of bed, and began to get dressed. She cursed herself. She'd realized in the last couple of weeks that she had come to rely on Kurt waking her up. Without that, she'd overslept for the past three weeks.  
  
"Wait a minute!" she thought. "It's been three weeks?"  
  
For the last three weeks, Kurt had hardly spoken a word to her. As a matter of fact, except for training sessions and the fact that they both lived in the same house, she hadn't seen him at all. He hadn't quit talking to her. He still said "Hello," "Bye," "Good morning," and "Good night," to her. And he wasn't being hateful or mean to her. As a matter of fact, he was the opposite of hateful. Why, just last week he saved her in the danger room. She was knocked off of a very high platform by a blaster, and she fell. What no one seemed to realize was that it had jolted her so bad, she couldn't phase. She saw the ground getting closer, and that's when the elf caught her. He held her tight to him as he teleported to the wall, grabbing onto a rod sticking out of the ground, and ran along the wall to the floor. He set her down gently, but before she could even say thanks, he teleported away again. She thought that was strange.  
  
"He normally risks injury in the danger room to stand there and talk to me." She thought.  
  
She couldn't help wonder what was wrong with Kurt. She thought about it and thought about it, and finally reached a decision. Maybe she could bring him up from his depression. Maybe he just needed a chance to throw a zinger or two her way.  
  
"I'll get him." She said to herself and smiled. Just then, the phone rang.  
  
"Hello?" she said, picking it up.  
  
"Hey Kitty" Lance said.  
  
"Oh! Hey Lance! What's up?"  
  
"Nothing much. Just wondering if you want to do something after school today."  
  
"Sure! That sounds great!" she said, and smiled.  
  
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Scott and Logan sat at the table. Scott was chewing his food absentmindedly, and Logan peered over the top of the newspaper. Both were watching Kurt. Kurt, meanwhile, had his head in one hand, and he was moving his food from one side of his plate to the other with his other hand. He hadn't touched a bite. Both Logan and Scott knew Kurt very well, and both found it strange that he wasn't eating. Logan in particular had noticed that he hadn't been eating that much for the past couple of weeks. And he was beginning to look tired. Weaker.  
  
"Kurt." Scott said.  
  
"Ja?"  
  
"You've got to eat."  
  
"I'm not hungry."  
  
"Listen, Elf, you better start eating." Logan said. "I don't know what has you so down nowadays, but you better fix it, because it's startin to make you slip."  
  
"Vhat do you mean?" Kurt said, slightly offended. "I've been training just as hard as anyone else!"  
  
"I saw your face the last week after you 'ported Kitty. You looked like you were about to die. You look weaker. You're startin to smell like your sick. I don't know what's wrong, but fix it."  
  
Logan got up and left the kitchen while Kurt sighed, and shoved a piece of bacon into his mouth.  
  
"Zhere! Is zhat better?!?" He called after Logan.  
  
"Yeah." Said Logan, popping his head back in, and then promptly leaving.  
  
"Kurt, what is wrong with you?" Scott asked.  
  
"Nuzzing."  
  
"Kurt, I can tell something's wrong. What is it?"  
  
Kurt thought it over for a moment. Perhaps it would be easier if he told Scott. Scott had been like a big brother to him ever since his first day at the Institute. That's why he called him Big Brother Scott. He'd understand. Everyone knew how he felt about Jean. Well, everyone but Jean, of course. So he knew what unrequited love felt like. But then he realized how stupid he would sound. Kurt knew he put up a good front. Most everyone bought into his self-confidence, but it was forced. Kurt looked around, trying to think of a way out of the question.  
  
"Here, I'm all better, see?!?" he said, and promptly lifted his plate to his mouth, and shoved about half of it's contents into his mouth.  
  
Scott watched this, his mouth stopping mid-chew. Kurt was looking at him. Kurt's head was tilted up, so that he looked at Scott sideways. He had an insane grin on his face, with too much food in his mouth. Some of it fell to the table. Scott took this sight in, and about two seconds later, doubled over with laughter.  
  
Kurt started laughing, too. It had been a long time since he laughed, and he had forgotten how good it made him feel to make people laugh.  
  
"No, no! Vatch zis, Scott!" he yelled, food flying from his mouth. He grabbed one of the remaining sausages from his plate and threw it at the wall across the room. Before it hit the wall, he teleported directly in front of it and snatched it out of the air with his mouth. Scott clapped and laughed again. Kurt was feeling really good for the first time in weeks. And that's when Kitty came in.  
  
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Kitty heard quiet voices in the kitchen. She slowed down, thinking that maybe whoever was in there was having a quiet conversation that they didn't want anyone to hear, and then she heard Scott laugh. And he was laughing hard. She poked her head in through the doorway and saw Kurt with a mouthful of food. Wait, it was more than a mouthful, she realized. He had an incredible amount of food shoved into his mouth.  
  
"Wow. Is part of his mutation, like, his mouth gets bigger when he eats?" she thought.  
  
"No, no! Vatch zis, Scott" she heard him yell from the next room. She watched him throw something across the room, and 'port in front of it and grab it in his mouth. Scott was clapping, and she decided that this was it. This was her moment to try to get him into a playful argument. She had almost, kind of, maybe been missing those. She knew just what to say. She knew just how to say it. What she was about to say would leave him open to choose a billion different types of comebacks. She imagined him saying "Vell, chicks dig da fuzzy dude," or something along those lines. So with her mind made up to make Kurt feel better, she stepped into the kitchen and said it.  
  
"Oh, that is, like, so disgusting. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend." She said.  
  
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Kurt was laughing when he heard, "Oh, that is, like, so disgusting. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend."  
  
Kurt froze. He felt as if all of his blood had been replaced with ice water. He knew whose voice it was, but he turned to look anyhow. She was there, leaning against the doorway. Her arms were folded, and there was a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. What joy there was in the world for Kurt left him then.  
  
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His back was to her, and she waited for him to turn. She was expecting him to turn, with that playful smile on his face. She waited for the zinger that she was certain he'd throw back to her. She was waiting for the verbal sparring match to begin. Kurt had a quick wit, and she found herself almost excited at the possibility of the coming verbal argument. She got something completely different.  
  
She watched as he turned to her. His eyes went wide at the same time his brow came down. She saw the hurt in his eyes, and instantly regretted her words. She immediately felt the apology forming on her lips, but it just never came. At least, they didn't come fast enough, because as soon as he fixed that forlorn look on her, he disappeared. Scott turned to look at her, and she looked at him. He was shaking his head, and the look of disappointment on his face made her feel even worse.  
  
"You know, it had been weeks since I'd seen him smile, let alone laugh." He told her, getting up from his seat.  
  
"I, like, totally didn't know he'd react that way." She said, trying desperately to defend herself.  
  
"Listen, Kitty. If you haven't noticed how much Kurt has changed, it's time for you to look at him again."  
  
"I've totally noticed! That's why I said it! I thought it would give him the chance to lighten up and tease me!"  
  
"Tease you? Kitty, I'm sure you've noticed he doesn't talk to you at all anymore. Most of us have noticed. What did you do to him anyway?" He threw back at her. He started walking out of the room and said, "Be ready, my car leaves for school in ten minutes."  
  
She stood there alone in the kitchen in a state of shock. She wondered what she had done to him. She knew that she had been a little too hard on him sometimes. Well, maybe more often than not. But she was sure that he knew that she cared for him.  
  
"I mean, I hardly ever flinch when I see him anymore." She thought. "Oh my God, did I just think that?"  
  
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Kurt 'ported all over the mansion, looking for Logan. He finally found him the garage, working on a motorcycle.  
  
"I'm not going to school today." He told Logan.  
  
Logan sat up, wiping his hands on a grease rag he picked up off of the floor.  
  
"Oh really? And just why is that?" He asked.  
  
"Because, if I go, I'll just feel sicker. Just today, Logan. I vant to stay home."  
  
Logan looked Kurt up and down. He really did look tired, and seemed very upset.  
  
"What are you going to do here today? Watch tv? Play video games?"  
  
"I vant ze danger room for most of ze day."  
  
"Brave words, Elf. Okay, I'll tell Charley. I'll see you in the danger room in an hour."  
  
"Zank you." Kurt said, no trace of emotion in his voice. He promptly 'ported away.  
  
Logan threw the rag to the ground, and suddenly his head was filled with Charles Xavier's voice.  
  
"Logan, I already know. Thank you for telling Kurt he could stay home. I was going to offer it to him today anyhow. I think he needs to let off some steam."  
  
"Do you know what his problem is, Professor?"  
  
"No. And I don't want to pry. Kurt seems intent on working this out for himself. I know he hasn't even talked to Scott about this problem, and I don't want to force him to."  
  
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Kurt stood on a platform that was raised almost to the ceiling of the danger room. He looked around him. He knew the drill. He simply had to get to the other side of the room and press the shutdown button.  
  
The room was circular. He was standing directly in the middle, approximately one hundred feet off of the ground. Surrounding him were steel pillars, each a different height, with a platform on top. A spiral walkway circled the room, going from the ceiling to the floor.  
  
"Okay, Elf. We'll be testing your speed and fighting abilities now. I'll also be sending out five seekers after you, each with an electrical charge. You sure you feel okay?" Logan asked.  
  
"Ja! Just start the verdamt zing!" Kurt yelled back.  
  
Logan pressed the button, and the game began.  
  
Kurt 'ported to the platform directly in front of him just as the platform he was standing on tilted to a ninety degree angle. He grabbed the side of the platform, flipping underneath it, and grabbed onto the pillar, which he crawled down like a squirrel. When he neared the middle of the pillar, a trap door opened up underneath it and the pillar fell straight down into the floor. Kurt 'ported the rest of the way down.  
  
Upon touching the floor, two steel whips came at him from opposite directions. He jumped, and they collided with each other, each crushing the other one. As soon as those were out of commission, five seeker 'bots flew out, each throwing an electrical charge at him. Kurt backflipped, hitting one with his tail. His tail sent it into the wall, where it exploded. Kurt came back up, and picked another 'bot out of the air, and threw it at the next closest one. When they blew up, Kurt was thrown back into the wall. As soon as his body touched the wall of the danger room, clamps came out of nowhere, trapping his against the wall. One of the two remaining seekers threw a charge at him, which hit him in the thigh. He screamed, and 'ported once more. He appeared over the seeker, coming down on it. He grabbed onto it, as it took off towards the ceiling. He looked behind him as he flew through the room, and found the other seeker throwing charges at him. He let go when he got close to the wall, grabbing onto the wall, just in time for the seeker behind him to demolish the one he was holding when it through a new charge. Gripping the wall, he bellowed, kicked off into the air fifty feet above the floor, and grabbed the last seeker. Once he had a hold on it, he teleported, and appeared on the floor with the seeker in his hands. Using some of his fading strength, he screamed and slammed it into the wall.  
  
With the last seeker destroyed, he ran along the floor on all fours, towards the shutdown button. Just as he was about to reach it, the button slid upwards, and the room began to rotate. To his left was the spiral walkway, so he ran towards it, onto it, and upwards. As he ran, about twenty-five steel balls, each larger than a basketball, came rolling towards him. They had almost reached him when he lunged onto the rotating wall, climbing up it. When he reached the next highest part of the spiral walkway, he hopped down. The button was right in front of him, and he punched it.  
  
The room shut down. The pillars descended into the floor, and any destroyed machinery was sucked into spaces in the walls before they sealed up. Kurt stood there, breathing very hard. He touched the lower part of his thigh on his right leg, and felt the singed fur and burn mark on his skin. He kneeled down to the floor, and tried to catch his breath.  
  
In the control room, Logan watched him. He had never seen the boy like that before.  
  
"Okay, Kurt. I think that's enough for today." He said over the p.a. system.  
  
"Nein! I need a rest, and zen I vant to run it again. Vith more seekers zis time."  
  
"Kurt, I said that's enough for today. Go get some food, and some rest."  
  
Kurt threw him a look, and bamfed out of the room. Logan didn't know what had happened to the boy to change him so. But he knew what rage looked like, and what it felt like, and was suddenly very pleased that he hadn't sent Kurt to school.  
  
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"No vonder I don't haff a girlfriend." Kurt said to himself in the kitchen, mimicking Kitty. He had eaten a healthy amount of food, and was heading toward the refrigerator again. He pulled a variety of food out of it, throwing it all on his plate.  
  
"Vell, at least I haven't sunk low enough to date someone from ze Brozerhood." He said to himself.  
  
Kurt polished off the rest of what was on his plate, and walked off toward the gym. He wanted to get in a couple of hours of working out.  
  
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Once again, Kitty didn't see Kurt anywhere at school. She spent most of the day trying to figure out how to apologize to Kurt.  
  
"So what do you want to do today?" Lance asked.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry, Lance. But I have to, like, talk to Kurt today." She said.  
  
"What? You promised we'd do something today."  
  
"I know, but I really hurt his feelings this morning, and I want to make it up to him."  
  
"You hurt his feelings? So what? You told me he's been annoying you. He's lucky I haven't stomped him yet."  
  
"Will you shut up, Lance? He hasn't been annoying me, and I've been really mean to him. I feel really bad, so how about, like, a little support here?"  
  
"I don't care if his feelings are hurt. And I don't care that you're the one that hurt his feelings. I hate him and the rest of those goody two shoes at the Institute. You're the only one I like."  
  
"Well, he's my friend, so you better lay off the subject. What's wrong with you lately?" she yelled. Other students were beginning to look at them.  
  
Lance looked around and noticed they were becoming noticed, and said, "Forget it then. Go hang out with your little blue freak friend." And then he walked off.  
  
Kitty looked at him, angry words rising in the throat. She held them in, however, and sat back down. How do I make it up to Kurt she wondered.  
  
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Longest chapter ever. Sorry if you think I totally went off on the danger room scene. I know it's a little long, but I'm trying to grow as a writer here. Right? Right. Anyhow, as always, review and tell me what was good and what sucked. I'd greatly appreciate it. However, if you're going to email me and tell me it sucked (only had one of those out of about 30 so far), please just tell me why. Promise the next chapter will progress the story. Somewhat. Maybe. 


	4. Serious Injuries

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution.  
  
Note: I'm trying to use the characters real names instead of their codename. It just seems strange to use a codename for someone you live with, and know is there to support you and would lay his or her life down for you and vice versa. So in case someone doesn't know, Rogue's real name is Marie. I'm really bad about remembering to use Marie instead of Rogue though, so sorry if I slip up.  
  
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She rode home with Scott, Evan, and Marie. As soon as Scott parked in the garage, Kitty jumped out of the car and ran inside. She had a big smile on her face as she ran up to Kurt's room. She had come up with her idea during her last class at school. It was Friday, and a new movie came out today that she was sure he'd want to see. It was some horror movie that she wasn't very interested in, but he'd love it, she was certain. She reached his room and knocked on the door. She got no answer.  
  
"Kurt?" she called, knocking again. Still, no answer.  
  
Evan walked down the hall and saw Kitty standing outside of his, and Kurt's, door.  
  
"What's up, Kitty?"  
  
"Do you know where Kurt is?" she asked.  
  
"He wasn't at school today. I know that much."  
  
"He wasn't?" She was about to ask why when Professor Xavier's voice appeared in both of their heads.  
  
"Kitty? Evan? Could you please join me in the dining room?" he asked.  
  
Kitty and Evan made their way to the dining room, wondering what was wrong. When they arrived, they found Jean, Scott, and Marie sitting at the table. They all looked very confused. Logan was there as well. Whereas the others looked confused, he looked angry. Professor Xavier was sitting at the head of the table, and motioned for Evan and Kitty to sit down. After they sat down, he faced the group to address them.  
  
"I thought it would be best to tell everyone at the same time. Kurt will be out of commission for the next two weeks. He is currently in the infirmary."  
  
Alarm raised among the entire group of young mutants.  
  
"What?!? What happened?" Scott asked.  
  
"He had an accident in the danger room. Now, he's not in critical care, but he is injured very badly. I expect all of you want to see him. He needs rest tonight, but you can visit him tomorrow. And it would be nice to let him know that we all care for and support him."  
  
Everyone nodded. Kitty suddenly felt sick. She looked over everyone, and found Jean glancing at her. She wondered why.  
  
"Also, until the danger room is repaired, there will be no sessions. Thank you." Professor X said, and then wheeled out of the room."  
  
"Repaired?" Scott thought. "Just what happened in there?"  
  
Everyone got up from the table. Rogue walked off towards the infirmary, not heeding the Professor's words about tomorrow. Scott and Evan walked into the kitchen with Logan. That left Kitty with Jean.  
  
"Do you think he's really okay?" asked Kitty.  
  
"Yeah." Jean said. "The Professor wouldn't lie to us."  
  
"God, Jean! What do you think is wrong with him? Why is he so sad lately?"  
  
Jean considered the question for a moment. She looked around to make sure that they were alone, and then turned back to Kitty.  
  
"Listen, Kitty. I didn't want to tell you before, because I didn't know how you'd react. About three weeks ago, he heard you talking to Lance on the phone. He wasn't spying. He had come up to apologize for annoying you so much, and he heard you."  
  
Kitty tried thinking back to three weeks ago. What was that conversation about? She kept thinking and thinking, but she couldn't remember. And then it popped into her head, and the realization hit her like an 18-wheel truck.  
  
"Oh no! Did he, like, hear everything?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know. He didn't tell me about it. I accidentally picked up on his thoughts on our ride to school the next day." Jean answered.  
  
Kitty suddenly felt like crying. She had thought that his condition had been her fault since Scott mentioned it earlier in the day. Now she knew for sure, and it hurt her. How could she have been so stupid, she wondered. Jean sat her back down, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Her breathing was speeding up, and Jean did her best to calm her down.  
  
"Hey! Hey, it's okay, Kitty. He'll be fine. Just wait until tomorrow, and go talk to him. Do what the Professor said, and let him know that you do care about him." Jean said.  
  
"Yeah. I know. I will." Kitty said, sniffling.  
  
"Okay, well, I'm going to go buy him a get well card. Wanna come?"  
  
"No. I'm gonna stay here." She said, looking around. She giggled, and said, "Guess the rules don't apply to Marie. She just left in the direction of the infirmary."  
  
"Yeah, well, family privileges." Jean said, and walked out.  
  
Kitty sat at the table by herself, thinking about everything. She had been so excited to go to the movies with Kurt. She realized today that she really was missing him. She knew that she could take things to the extreme sometimes. Kurt's infatuation and flirting had never really bothered her all that much. She really had kind of gotten used to it. And she did enjoy his company. He was always able to make her laugh when she was sad. He always offered advice when she was having problems with school, training, or Lance.  
  
"Although his advice about Lance is always 'break up viz him.'" She thought, and giggled.  
  
She hadn't realized at the time how much his friendship meant to her. She felt bad about the way she treated him, and felt even worse about the things that she had said. When it came down to it, she actually felt closer to him than any of the other students at the Institute.  
  
She got up from the table, and walked towards the kitchen. That's when she heard Logan talking to Scott and Evan. She hesitated before entering. Upon hearing what they were talking about, she opted to hide in a corner of the hallway outside of the kitchen.  
  
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"I should have known he'd go back in, after that look he threw at me. I should have known." Logan said. He was obviously very angry with himself.  
  
"Logan, what in the hell happened to Kurt?" Scott demanded. "I know he's okay, but what happened in the danger room?"  
  
Logan thought about it for a moment, and began to tell Scott and Evan (and Kitty, who was hiding around the corner) about what happened four hours ago.  
  
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Kurt was certain his leg had come out of its socket. He was climbing up the wall with just his two arms and his left leg. His right leg dangled behind him, and he winced every time it swung into the wall. Blood flowed from his mouth and nose, and was almost pouring out of a deep gash in his forehead. Scrapes and cuts covered his body. And if someone were to shave the fur off of him, they'd find that bruises covered most of his body as well. His eyes were still determined, and he promised himself that when this was over, he'd walk out.  
  
"More like crawl out." He thought. He was light-headed and getting slower. He let go of the wall, and fell backwards, teleporting to the nearest column.  
  
Below him, on the ground, were the remains of dozens upon dozens of 'bots. Seekers littered the floor, along with the man-sized Hunters. He had destroyed nine whips, each with a different weapon on its head, before the last one shattered his sword. He had taken it by its head, which was shooting fire, and ripped it from its socket in the wall. He looked at his hands at that moment, and saw how burned they were. That's when the new whip threw him into the wall, and he climbed upwards, away from it.  
  
Now he was standing on the column, on one leg, watching the whip come for him. He had no more energy, and he found he couldn't teleport. He looked down at the ground, realizing he was at least seventy feet up in the air, and only looked back up when the whip hit him, sending him plummeting down to the floor.  
  
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"What did he have the room set for?" Scott asked incredulously. He was scared for Kurt, and it was evident in his voice.  
  
"He had it set to train a team of six mutants." Logan said, and then cursed. "He even locked it up so that he wasn't able to teleport out."  
  
"How long was he in there for, fighting like that?" Evan asked.  
  
"At least forty-five minutes." Logan said. "I went to the control room to get the video disks of his earlier run through the room to show to the Professor, and that's when I saw him on the ground. He must have destroyed at least 60 of the robots. The room was still armed, and the whips were tossing him around on the ground."  
  
"That's when I took out the machine." Logan finished, balling up his fists.  
  
"Oh my God." Scott said.  
  
"I'll say one thing about the Elf. He may not be too smart," Logan said, getting up from the table in the nook and heading towards the door, "but he almost beat the room on a six mutant setting. He destroyed most of it. So I recommend you thank him for your postponed danger room sessions tomorrow." And with that, he walked outside of the mansion.  
  
In her quiet corner in the hall outside of the kitchen, Kitty's tears fell silently to the floor. She felt sick, and suddenly also felt very dizzy. She leaned against the wall for support. When she felt a little more level- headed, she phased her way upstairs, to her room.  
  
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Marie stood outside of Kurt's room in the infirmary, looking at him through the window. He was asleep. He had wires and tubes attached to him, all over his body. She looked him over a little more carefully, and saw some places where he was stitched up, most notably on his forehead. The stitches looked small and neat, and she doubted there would be hardly any scar at all. She wondered why she felt so close to the fuzzy mutant. She knew it was partly because of Mystique being his mother, and her foster mother. But it was more than that.  
  
"We both know what it feels like to be separated from others. Him 'cause o' his appearance, me 'cause o' mah powers." She thought.  
  
She remembered back to her dramatic reading assignment with Scott a couple of weeks after she first moved to town. Kurt had appeared suddenly, and she had said that he was just like an annoying little brother. She laughed when she remembered this. However, she felt like that's what he became, minus the "annoying" part.  
  
She was about to leave when she felt someone else next to her. Looking to her left and up, she saw it was Scott.  
  
"He looks so bad." Scott said. He was obviously very affected by the sight of Kurt.  
  
"Ah know." She said. "Logan tell you what happened?"  
  
"Yeah. Kurt set the danger room on a six team member setting and took it on by himself." He answered.  
  
"Why in God's name would he do that?"  
  
"I don't know. He'll be fine, though. The professor said he'd be fine, so he'll be fine."  
  
Marie had the feeling that he was trying to convince himself more than her.  
  
They both remained there, in silence, watching over their little brother.  
  
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Chapter 3 finished. Told everyone this would be a longer story than "Welcome Home." Once again, thank you for all of your reviews. They honestly mean a lot to me. I'm glad you all like the story so far, and I promise to try to make it better. And I did progress it a little bit. At least Kitty knows how much she does care for him as a friend now. 


	5. Hospital Visits

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution, or any Marvel property.  
  
Note: LANCE FANS PLEASE READ. I know some people may be upset with the way that I write Lance. There's a really good reason for that. I hate him. I've read X-Men comics for at least a decade before I stopped collecting. And they always seemed to hint at hidden (or unrealized) feelings between Shadowcat and Nightcrawler, even through the Excalibur comics. Anyhow, I thought Evolution would change that, and I was happy, and then they throw in this Kitty/Lance thing. Ah well, I got screwed again. Anyhow, if you're a fan of Lance, I don't recommend reading my fics. I really am truly sorry, but like I said, I don't like the character.  
  
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As Scott and Marie watched over Kurt, a few miles away, Lance looked at the phone. He realized that he should call her. He knew that he should apologize, but his pride got in the way. He imagined what would happen if he called to apologize, and Todd, Fred, or worse, Pietro walked in. He thought it better to wait for a private moment at school. He hadn't meant to say all of those things to Kitty. But she had chosen that furry demon over him.  
  
"What's so special about the fuzz ball, anyhow? She didn't seem to mind that she was hurting my feelings. She was too worried about Nightcrawler." He thought.  
  
Lance picked up the phone. He was both angry and sad, and couldn't tell which feeling was worse. He quickly hung it up, turned away, and walked out of the door.  
  
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The next day, Kurt woke up in the infirmary. He looked around the room, and didn't know where he was, or how he got there. He looked down at himself, and saw the wires and tubes attached to him. Then he remembered. The whip had been heading for him, hit him, he fell, and the rest was darkness. He vaguely remembered opening his eyes again, and seeing Logan's face over his. Then the blackness set in again, and suddenly, here he was.  
  
He tried to sit up, but his body screamed. Wincing, he laid back down. Feeling underneath the handle on the right side of the bed, he found the controls to make the bed move. He held a switch up, and the top half of his bed began to rise. He felt a pain here and there, but otherwise he was okay. When the bed reached its maximum height, he felt the air in front of him, and found what he was looking for. He knew the infirmary could be remote controlled, and he knew that over every bed dangled one of those controls. He grabbed it, and turned on the lights. His eyelids automatically shut in protest to the light, but he slowly opened them, getting used to the light. When it didn't hurt to have his eyes open any longer, he surveyed his body, taking in the damage.  
  
His right leg was bandaged at the hip, and the thigh. He found stitches here and there on his body, and felt a rather long one on his forehead. It throbbed at his touch, so he quickly pulled his hand away. As he pulled his hands away, he noticed that they were bandaged too, and remembered the burns he had received from the fire spouting whip.  
  
"Vhat in ze hell vas I zinking?" he said aloud.  
  
"That's what I'd like to know." He heard.  
  
Kurt looked over the room, and found Scott sitting close to his bed. He couldn't believe that he hadn't seen him. But then again, looking over his condition had taken most of his attention. He was glad to see Scott, though. He smiled, though even that hurt somewhat. He was also instantly embarrassed and ashamed. Scott was going to be mad at him, he was sure. Scott was probably going to lecture him about how irresponsible he was and how he had to stop goofing off so much. For once, Kurt knew, he was going to be absolutely right. What Kurt had done was stupid, and Kurt knew it. But instead, Scott smiled back at him. "Nice to see you up again, Kurt." Scott said.  
  
"Nice to be up."  
  
"I imagine so. You've slept for awhile now. Marie was here earlier. She spent most of the night here with you and I." Scott said, motioning to the floor. Kurt looked over his bed, and found a mess of blankets on the floor. He fixed Scott with a mischievous look.  
  
"And just vhere did you sleep?" He said, and winked.  
  
"Apparently you ARE feeling better." Scott said and laughed. "I slept on the floor, she slept in the chair I'm in now."  
  
"Glad to know."  
  
"So Kurt. Do you want to tell me what's wrong now?" Scott asked.  
  
"Vell, I'm obviously not six mutants packed into one." Kurt joked.  
  
"Obviously. But why did you do it?"  
  
Kurt sighed, and looked up at Scott. "I overheard Kitty on ze phone vith Lance. She vas telling him how uncomfortable I make her, and how much I creep her out."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Ja." Kurt said.  
  
"Well, she certainly seems concerned about you lately." Scott ventured.  
  
"Mhm. And zat's vhy she said vhat she said yesterday morning. 'No vonder you haff no girlfriend.' I can make myself feel bad enough by myself, Scott. I didn't need ze extra help."  
  
"She told me that she said that to try to cheer you up. I think she was trying to start one of your world famous arguments."  
  
"Vell, she failed." Kurt said bitterly.  
  
"Kurt, you know how I feel about Jean."  
  
"Ja."  
  
"So you know I know what unrequited, let's say feelings, is like. Take my advice. Don't give up the friendship."  
  
"Scott, she laughed vhen Lance said he'd hurt me."  
  
"I can't answer for her, Kurt, but I don't think that she'd find it funny if he hurt you. She certainly seemed worried about you last night."  
  
"Vas?!? Does everyone know?" Kurt asked, suddenly alarmed.  
  
"Afraid so, Elf. I think Logan is pretty angry with you."  
  
"Vunderbar." Kurt said.  
  
"Yeah. Well, lucky for you, he also seems pretty impressed. Listen, why don't you get some more rest. I'm sure that everyone will come to see you today. I'm going to bed." Scott said.  
  
Scott was leaving the room when Kurt called out to him. "Scott!"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Vas she really worried about me?"  
  
"Yup." Scott said, and then left the room.  
  
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Kurt received visitors for the next couple of hours, and he realized how much he had been missing his friends. Marie came in next, and she hugged him so hard that we cringed in pain.  
  
"Sorry." Marie said.  
  
"It's okay." Kurt said.  
  
"So, ya don't look like six mutants. Ya look like one big, crappy mutant."  
  
"Ja, zat's ze rumor."  
  
"Ya okay?"  
  
"I probably feel better zhan I should feel. I know I look pretty bad, but I feel okay."  
  
"Good." Said Marie. "Why'd ya do it?"  
  
"I needed to vork some zings out."  
  
"Did it work?"  
  
"Maybe. Ve'll see later on." Kurt answered.  
  
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Logan and Professor Xavier followed Rogue. He did get a lecture from the Professor, and Logan did give him a hard look and told him how lucky he was. But then they both offered the grudging respect to him. Professor X said he'd gone over the videodisks, and thought Kurt's training had come along by leaps and bounds. Logan simply nodded his head, and told Kurt that he wanted to start weapons training with him when he got to feel better. Then he shook his hand and he and the Professor left. About an hour after they left, Jean walked in. She handed him a card and a bag of candy. Kurt immediately put the card on the table, and before he opened it, ripped into the candy.  
  
"Nice." Jean said.  
  
"Sorry, Jean. I'm just so hungry."  
  
"It's okay, Kurt." She said. "Listen, I think that I better talk to you about something."  
  
"Vhat is it?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Listen, I talked to Kitty about what's been bothering you."  
  
Kurt froze, and looked at Jean a little closer. "He did you find out? Did Scott tell you?"  
  
"Um, no. I kind of accidentally picked up on it the morning after it happened. Remember, you rode to school with me?"  
  
"Oh. Ja. So you told Kitty about my feelings, Jean?"  
  
"No. I promise I didn't. I just told her how what she said made you feel."  
  
"Vhat did she say?"  
  
"Well, I think that's really in her place to tell you. I'll just tell you that she wasn't very happy when she realized how she made you feel."  
  
"Is she going to visit me today?"  
  
"She said that she planned on it last night. I imagine she's trying to think of what to say to you. And Kurt, please, be gentle on her."  
  
Jean got up to leave the room, and saw blankets all over the floor.  
  
"Who slept in here last night?" Marie asked.  
  
"Oh, Scott and Marie."  
  
"Scott AND Marie?"  
  
"Ja."  
  
Jean's face turned read and all she could say was, "Oh. Well, see you later Kurt." And she stormed out, her face turning redder and redder.  
  
Kurt laughed to himself, and thought that he would have to store the memory and tell Scott about it sometime soon.  
  
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Kitty had been sitting in her bedroom, trying to figure out what she was going to say to Kurt. She knew what she wanted him to understand. She wanted him to know that she did indeed treasure his friendship, and that she was so sorry for the way that she used to treat him. All she really wanted to do is hang out with her friend, and she was both worried about going to see him today, and excited. She hated the circumstances of their upcoming talk, but she hoped that they would be better off after it was over.  
  
Kitty got up and began to get dressed. After getting dressed, she walked downstairs into the kitchen. Jean was sitting there, eating lunch.  
  
"Lunch?" Kitty said. "Did I sleep that long?"  
  
"Apparently."  
  
Kitty sat down at the table, and began to steal food off of Jean's plate. Jean fixed her with a look, and Kitty got up to fix herself something to eat.  
  
"So have you seen Kurt yet?" Asked Jean.  
  
"No, not yet." "Well, I think he's looking forward to seeing you."  
  
"Probably wants to, like, yell at me."  
  
"No. Kitty, I told him about what I told you."  
  
Kitty spun around, a look of terror on her face.  
  
"Why did you do that?"  
  
"Because, I thought it would be important for both of you to be on the same page when you go to visit him. If you just told him that you knew he had heard, he'd probably clam up, and stay that way."  
  
Kitty nodded. She was upset, but she knew that Jean was right.  
  
"Well, I gotta go. Do yourself a favor, and bring him some food." Jean said, and walked out of the room.  
  
After Kitty ate, she put together two large plates of food, and phased through the floor to the bottom levels. When she reached the floor that the infirmary was on, she solidified, and looked towards the end of the hall. One of the rooms at the end of the hallway had lights on, and she could hear a television playing. She slowly walked down to the room, growing more and more nervous with each step. Finally, she was just outside the room, and found that she couldn't enter it. She had started to turn around and leave when she heard his voice.  
  
"Hallo, Kitty."  
  
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Okay, that's chapter 4. As always, you guys rock for the reviews that you give me. I'm glad you're liking it.. If anyone has any questions or complaints, I'll try answering them in the notes at the beginning of the next chapter. Anyhow, I think there's maybe two or three more chapters. You'll find out why Lance is acting so strange, and there should be some more action/adventure in here a little later. Glad you're enjoying it. I'm going to class now. Bye! 


	6. Friendship Found

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution, or any other Marvel property.  
  
Note: Okay, so I think this is going to be a pretty short chapter. More to come later. Also, the number of reviews on this is pretty low. I'm not writing to get a pat on the back, but the reviews did help me figure out where to go on Welcome Home. Anyhow, if you guys aren't digging the story, let me know, and I'll wrap it up next chapter. Otherwise, this may go on for a couple of chapters more. Also, I hope that I didn't run anyone away with my note about Lance.  
  
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Scott was walking aimlessly around the mansion. He had nothing else to do, and was bored with sitting in his room. He had considered going swimming, but it was pretty cold outside. Fall was almost over, and winter would come to Bayville soon enough. He had thought of reading a book in the library, but Evan was in there, and he had the annoying habit of humming loudly while he studied. Scott had shut the door before he had even opened it completely. So he found himself wandering the halls, wondering what else there was to do. He walked into the rec room, and found Jean reading.  
  
"Hey Jean. What's up?"  
  
"Nothing. Reding." She said. Scott thought she sounded a little short.  
  
"Ah. Well, you want to do something?" he asked.  
  
"I'm reading, Scott." She said.  
  
"Well, why don't we do something later? You wanna go into town? Maybe see a movie?" Scott asked.  
  
"What? Like a date?" she said, not looking up from her book.  
  
Scott suddenly felt flustered. "Well, no, I mean, we can see if anyone else wants to go. I just want to get out of the mansion."  
  
"Well, why don't you ask Rogue, then?" Jean asked.  
  
"What? Because I asked you." He answered.  
  
"Oh. I just figured that Rogue had turned you down, so I must be your second choice."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Don't bother me now, Scott. I'm busy."  
  
She had never looked up from her book. Scott stood there, completely amazed and confused from the conversation. He walked out a minute later, wondering what it had all been about.  
  
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"Hello, Kurt." Kitty said, entering his room. She sat down on the chair next to his bed, being careful not to look him in the eyes. Yet.  
  
Kurt watched her enter, and felt his heart go weak again. He had wondered for the past month why he couldn't stop loving her. Now, watching her, he understood. She had a shy look in her eyes, almost embarrassed, really. But her lips were set in a small, sweet smile, and he could smell the wonderful scent that was a combination of the soap and lotion she used, and the perfume that she wore. She wouldn't look directly at him, so, just for a second, he closed his eyes and breathed her in.  
  
"How are you?" she asked.  
  
"Vhy does everyone ask zat? I mean, I vould zink it's fairly obvious." He said, joking.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry." She apologized quickly.  
  
"No, no, no! I didn't mean that rudely, Kitty. I vas only joking." He said.  
  
"Oh. Well, how long did the professor say you'd take to heal?"  
  
"Vell, he said I should be able to valk again in a couple of weeks. Logan fixed my leg vithout haffing to break it."  
  
"That's good."  
  
"Ja."  
  
And awkward silence settled in between them. They both knew that the other knew, but neither one of them wanted to broach the subject yet.  
  
"And here I was, like, totally going to take you to the movies last night." Kitty joked.  
  
"Ja, sure you vere."  
  
"No! Seriously, I was!"  
  
"And vhat movie vas zat?" asked Kurt.  
  
"I don't remember the name. It was that stupid looking horror movie that you said you wanted to see."  
  
"And you vere going to invite me?"  
  
"Well, yeah."  
  
"Vhy?"  
  
"Because you're my friend."  
  
Kurt smiled at her. His face was illuminated by it, and suddenly, she couldn't hold it in anymore.  
  
"Listen, Kurt, I've been wanting to talk to you. To apologize to you."  
  
"No, you don't have to, Kitty. It's cool." He said.  
  
"No, I do have to. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about the way I've treated you since I moved here. You've always been so good to me, and I've always been so mean to you."  
  
"It doesn't matter. . . " he tried to say, but she kept apologizing.  
  
"I didn't mean everything that I said to Lance on the phone that night. I mean, yeah, sometimes you were a bit much to handle. But that didn't give me the right to say those horrible things, and it would totally. . . "  
  
"Kitty. . . " Kurt said.  
  
". . . suck if you wouldn't be my friend anymore. I even have problems waking up without you. I mean, I've totally waken up late for the past three weeks. . . "  
  
"Katzchen. . . "  
  
". . . and since you've been ignoring me, I've found out how important you are to me, and how much I miss you."  
  
"Zank you, Kitty. It means a lot to me, but you vere right to be angry. I should haff quit bothering you a long time ago. And for zat I apologize." He said.  
  
"Does this, like, mean we can be friends again?" Kitty asked happily.  
  
"Ja. As long as you give me zat food." He said, pointing at the plates that she had brought in with her.  
  
"Oh, yeah." She gave the plates to him, and laughed as he inhaled them. When he was done eating, she leaned over and gently hugged him. "I really did miss you, Kurt. I didn't know how good a friend you were until you weren't my friend anymore.  
  
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Kurt sat up in his bed. It was almost two weeks later, and he was able to walk. It's true that he had a considerable limp, and used crutches or a wheelchair to get around instead most of the time, but at least nothing was broken. His stitches would be pulled out in a couple of weeks, and everyone had promised him that they were so small that he would never see a scar. Even though his entire body was still sore, he was feeling much better. He was happy. He and Kitty had spent a lot of time together, and Kurt found he enjoyed her company even more now that she didn't yell all of the time. She would come down with his breakfast everyday, and eat there with him. And then she would hurry home from school, and bring his assignments to him. The two of them would study together until dinner. Sometimes she ate upstairs, most of the time she ate with him. Usually someone would come down to keep him company for the night, and most times, it was Kitty or Scott. Sometimes both.  
  
Kurt and Kitty's friendship had grown into something that each suddenly found themselves very happy with. They were best friends. They told anything and everything to each other. Kurt told Kitty his entire history, and Kitty was moved by how strong he was. She had never considered what it must have been like for Kurt. A purely physical mutation since birth. She couldn't even imagine what that would have done to her. In Kurt, she found the best friend that she had been looking for, and found more and more time to spend with him. She was happy, and so was he. The only person who wasn't happy was Lance.  
  
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Pretty short chapter. Ah well. Like I said, if you guys aren't digging this, let me know and I'll just finish it next chapter. You have all been great, and I can't thank you enough. There's some action coming up, a lot possibly (if you want me to continue that is). So anyhow, let me know what you think, and I'll see ya soon. 


	7. Things Are Changing

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say that I don't own X-Men: Evolution every time I write something?  
  
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Lance had Kurt by his hair, and threw his head into the ground. Nightcrawler teleported away, but when he stood he was shaking, swaying from side to side, holding his head in his hands. Lance smiled and stomped his foot on the ground. The tremors started slowly, and then built. The ground ripped apart, creating a chasm that sped its way towards the dazed Kurt. As the ground opened up beneath the blue, furry mutant, Lance was treated to a look of terror that satisfied him like nothing before. His happiness, however, was ripped away when Kitty entered his sight. Kitty ran and slid across the ground, her hand extended, reaching towards Nightcralwer. Her hand caught his just as Kurt was about to fall into the nothingness that Lance had created. Lance screamed, his moment stolen, and in his rage, stomped his foot to the ground again. This time he saw the chasm racing for Kitty, who turned to him with a horrified look. He had time to smile before he screamed, and woke up.  
  
He was lying on his bed in his room. He looked at the time, and saw that he would have to be leaving for school soon. He thought back to his dream, and instantly remembered why he was feeling so bad lately. Kitty had been ignoring him for the past two weeks. He hardly saw her anymore, and when he was with her, it was as if her mind was somewhere else. He knew that Nightcrawler had apparently had some kind of accident in their training simulator. He had begun to think that was where Kitty had been spending all of her time. She had been with Kurt, that fuzzy little freak.  
  
He got up and began to get dressed for school. He didn't even feel like going, but he was going to set this right today. One way or another.  
  
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As Lance was getting dressed, Kurt had just woken up. It was Friday, and he was looking forward to the day. Today would see the last couple of hours in the infirmary. And tonight, Kitty was making good on her promise of a movie. He decided that he would treat her to dinner as well. He knew it wasn't a date, but he didn't see anything wrong with a nice dinner between two friends. He and Scott would go for pizza every now and then, so what would be wrong with him and Kitty going out?  
  
This was also the last day that he was staying home from school. This meant that no one had to bother themselves by getting his school assignments each and every day. He was a little afraid that once he was completely returned to health, that Kitty wouldn't want to hang with him anymore. He had been wondering if the only reason that Kitty had been hanging out with him so much was because she felt guilty for what happened. And he wondered if, once he returned to health, she would still be as good of friends with him. But when she brought up the idea of going to the movies last night, he knew that they were going to remain friends. Just then, Kitty phased through the wall, two breakfasts in hand. He looked inside of himself, and wished that he could get over her, but her knew that he couldn't.  
  
"Ready for your last breakfast in bed, Elf?" she asked.  
  
"Vas? Are you saying that you von't bring me my breakfast once I'm healed?" he joked.  
  
"Like, no way! I think you can handle walking down to the kitchen!"  
  
"Vell, ve'll see." He said as he sat up. "So, are ve still going out to ze movies tonight?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Vell, I vas vondering, vould you like to go to dinner first? I mean, not as a date, just as friends. . . "  
  
Kitty smiled warmly and said, "Sure, that's cool, Kurt."  
  
"Okay. It's really just as a zank you for being so nice to me vhile I vas here. I can't zank you enough."  
  
"It's okay, Kurt. Like I said, I have fun hanging out with you."  
  
The two ate breakfast in silence.  
  
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Kitty got out of Scott's car, and said 'bye to everyone. As she walked off to class, she looked around for Lance. She had missed him. She didn't mind spending so much time with Kurt. As a matter of fact, she loved spending so much time with her friend. But she did miss spending time with Lance, too. Now that Kurt was okay, and they repaired their friendship, she would be able to spend more time with Lance.  
  
"Maybe I can help him with whatever's wrong with him lately." She thought.  
  
Lance had been acting very strange lately. He had been distant and secretive. She ate with him everyday at lunch, but he hardly acknowledged her presence most days. She would talk, and his end of the conversation would consist of monosyllabic responses. Sometimes he would just watch her talk, and other times he wouldn't even look at her. She had yelled at him after school the other day, and then immediately apologized.  
  
"I just wish he would talk to me and tell me what's bothering him." She said quietly to herself.  
  
The day dragged until lunch, and when the hour finally came, Kitty looked all over for Lance. He wasn't in the cafeteria, and he wasn't eating outside. She had just about given up hope when she saw him walk outside with Todd. She made her way over to them, hoping to spend some time with Lance.  
  
"Hi Lance!" she said, smiling. She stood up to kiss his cheek, and he pulled away.  
  
"Hi, Kitty." He said, and walked past her.  
  
"What was that all about?" she wondered, and followed him.  
  
"Hey, Lance, can I talk to you?"  
  
"Yo. Pretty Kitty, he's a little busy right now, kay?" Todd said.  
  
"I wasn't talking to you, slime boy. I was talking to my boyfriend."  
  
"Oh, is that what I am?" Lance asked. "Do me a favor, Pretty Kitty, and don't talk to my friend like that."  
  
"What?" Kitty said, completely taken aback.  
  
"You should know what it means to be someone's friend, Kitty. It's why you don't spend anymore time with me! So you should understand that I don't want you talking crap about my friends." He said and walked off with Todd.  
  
Kitty stood there, feeling tears starting to come to her eyes. She hadn't meant for this to happen. But she was hoping that Lance would have understood. Todd flashed a look back at her, as if laughing at her. She stood there, and suddenly a new feeling came over her. She quit being sad and walked back up to Kurt. She grabbed him by his arm, and led him away. Todd gave her a dirty look, but she kept walking away, dragging Lance behind her.  
  
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" he asked.  
  
"We're finding someplace private. We have to talk." She said. He pulled out of her hand, and stood frozen where he was.  
  
"No, I don't think we have to talk at all, Kitty."  
  
"No, I think that we do!" she said. Her voice was rising. "Why are you being so mean to me? Why are you treating me like this?"  
  
"Because I'm sick of you choosing your little goody-goody friends over me! I'm sick of spending all of my time alone."  
  
"All of your time?!? Lance, it's been, like, two weeks! And it was important. Kurt was really hurt!"  
  
"No, I see! You're friends are more important than me!"  
  
"My friends have given me all kinds of crap over our relationship! I've always defended you, and it's sometimes caused fights with my friends! So I don't want to hear this crap about how I choose them over you! Most times, I choose you over them and wait for another argument!"  
  
"So what? You wanna prize?!?" he asked, and walked away. "Why don't you go talk to Kurt?"  
  
Kitty stood there, livid, mouth agape.  
  
"How dare you!" she screamed after him. He waved her off from behind his back.  
  
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"Vell, you know vhat my advice is."  
  
"Yeah, I know what your advice is Kurt." she said.  
  
"Break up viz him." She thought. And for the first time, she honestly thought about it.  
  
As soon as she got home, she had gone downstairs to talk to Kurt. She was confused as to how she felt. She felt sad, sure. But at the same time, she was angry at Lance. Actually, angry was too light of a word for the way she felt. She couldn't believe the way that he had treated her. She was telling the truth. She had taken all kinds of grief for being in a relationship with Lance. And he didn't seem to care. She couldn't believe that he was being this selfish. Didn't he understand what she had gone through for him? That question kept running through her head, and every time she thought about it, she got angrier and angrier.  
  
"Vell, I tell you vhat? Vhy don't you go grab somezing to eat, and zen go get some sleep. You must be tired." Kurt said.  
  
"No! We're supposed to go out tonight."  
  
"Kitty, you are in no mood to go out to dinner and a movie."  
  
"Kurt, I'm not going to let him ruin my night. I'm done with feeling bad over this. This is his problem, if he doesn't want to deal with it, then I'm his loss."  
  
"Zat's right, Katzchen!" he said, smiling. He felt bad for his friend, but he thought that if she were to drop Lance, it would be the best thing that she had ever done. He had come to the point where he was ready to drop any type of hope for romance with Kitty. He would always love her, but he knew she couldn't ever return that. And he was ready to take on the role of best friend.  
  
"So, we're going out tonight."  
  
"Only if you feel up for it, Kitty. I don't vant you to go out and force yourself to be happy. Zat kind of of zing vill only make you feel sicker."  
  
"No, I won't let him make me feel like this." She said, and then smiled at Kurt. "And he won't keep me from having a good time with my friends."  
  
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Lance got home, and promptly punched a hole in a wall downstairs.  
  
"Yo! Dude, like, careful! You get too mad, you'll bring this house down. And I like having a home!" Todd said.  
  
Lance threw a look at him and walked off. He walked upstairs and went to his room, slamming the door so that everyone knew not to bother him. He paced back and forth, cursing himself for his stupidity. He knew what Kitty had gone through for him, and he felt bad for saying the things that he had said to her. He was wrong. He wondered if she was still mad at him, and if she was, what she was going to do about it. Lance wasn't holding much hope about the future of his relationship with Kitty. He thought back to his argument with Kitty at school earlier that day, and all that he could feel was hatred. Hatred for himself. Why did he have to say those things? Why did he have to be so selfish?  
  
Lance went to lie down on his bed. He just wanted to forget all of this. He didn't want to deal with these thoughts anymore. Suddenly there was a knock on his door. The door opened, and standing there were Pietro and Todd.  
  
"Hey-Lance-what's-wrong-with-you? Pretty-Kitty-got-you-down?" Pietro said.  
  
"Get out of here, Pietro, unless you want to get rocked. . . "  
  
"Yo, Lance, we're just here to try to cheer ya up, man." Todd said. "We wanna go downtown tonight. Wanna come with?"  
  
Lance thought for a moment, and then got up off of his bed. Maybe this is what he needed. Just something in order to get Kitty out of his mind.  
  
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When Scott got home, he once again had nothing to do. So he worked out in the gym for about an hour before getting bored with that. He showered in the locker room, dressed, and went up to the kitchen to get something to eat. Jean was sitting there. For the past couple of weeks, Jean had given him the cold shoulder, and her couldn't figure out why for the longest time. Then he had talked to Kurt about it, and Kurt thought that he knew the answer.  
  
"Vait a moment!" Kurt had said. "Hahahaha!"  
  
"What? Kurt do you know why Jean's mad at me?"  
  
"I zink maybe!" Kurt had answered. "Vhen I told her zat you and Rogue stayed in here ze first night after I got hurt, she got mad and almost stormed out! I zink she's jealous?"  
  
"What?!?" Scott had asked. Then they both broke into laughter, and Scott left in a better mood.  
  
Unfortunately, whenever Scott tried to talk to her after that, she had been really cold with him. He knew that she had broken up with Duncan about two months ago, and all he wanted to do is get her alone and in the right frame of mind to tell her his feelings about her.  
  
"Hi Jean." Scott said.  
  
"Hi Scott." Jean said. She didn't look up at him, but down at her food.  
  
"Listen, Jean, I know you're mad at me." Scott said, and then lied, "I'm not really sure why, but I wish you'd let me make it up to you."  
  
Jean stopped chewing for a moment. It was weird enough when she suddenly felt jealous of Rogue, but then a week ago she realized why. She had developed feelings for Scott somewhere along the line of their friendship.  
  
"Why don't you let me take you out tonight? I'll take you to dinner." Scott said, crossing his fingers.  
  
Jean smiled, hoping Scott couldn't see it.  
  
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Okay, so there's chapter 6. Yeah, I know, it seems a little formulaic, right? Well, I needed to set up the last couple of chapters. But now all the players (maybe not all of them) are about to enter the fray, and we'll see what happens later. Thanks for all of your reviews. Can't thank you enough for those. See ya. 


	8. Mistaken Relationship

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution or any other Marvel property.  
  
Note: Okay, so I didn't realize that I should accept anonymous reviews. I've fixed it so that I can receive them now, so if you want to tell me anything (i.e.- you suck), you can do that now. If you want to. I hope you don't. Please love me.  
  
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Scott was in his room getting dressed. He couldn't believe his luck. He had finally gotten the nerve to ask Jean out to dinner, and she said yes. He almost thought he could even see her smile after he asked. About that, he wasn't sure. There was one thing that he was sure of, though. He was going to dinner tonight with the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes upon. And he wanted to make sure that he didn't screw it up.  
  
Scott was a young man driven by order and preparation. He consistently knew what he was doing, where he was going, and what to do when he got there. So, he had known what he was going to wear on this date before he had even asked her out. He had known for some time before, as a matter of fact. When Jean had broken up with "that dumb jock Duncan" (as Scott liked to think of him), he had hoped that this day would come. And after his talk with Kurt in the infirmary, he was sure that it had.  
  
He wasn't wrong.  
  
Jean was in her room, dressed already, trying to figure out where to go to for dinner that night. She knew that Scott was planning to tell her how he felt about her that night. She couldn't help but know.  
  
"Sometimes being a telepath takes all of the fun out of things." She thought.  
  
She wanted to make sure that this night was special for both of them. Scott had told her that she should pick where they were going to go for dinner, and she wanted it to be as romantic as possible so that he would open up to her. That way, she could open up her feelings to him. She had known for the past year how he had felt about her. She just wasn't ready for as intense a relationship as she was sure it would be. Better to stay with Duncan, she thought. He wasn't all bad, in retrospect. Duncan was just a boy, though, and Scott was a young man who she respected thoroughly. The fact that she was going to go on a date with him when she had just discovered how deep her feelings were for him excited her so much that she felt flush and her knees would sometimes go weak.  
  
Jean looked at herself in the mirror, hoping that she looked nice enough for him.  
  
Scott looked at himself in the mirror, hoping that he looked nice enough for her.  
  
The two met in the entrance hall, and the sight of each took the other's breath away.  
  
Scott offered his arm to Jean, and together the two walked outside to Scott's car. He opened the door for her, and after they were both in the car, they were gone.  
  
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Meanwhile, Kurt laid on Kitty's bed, waiting for her. She had gone through half a dozen outfits, each one looking the same to Kurt as the last. But she looked great in any of them. He shook that thought out of his head, and then sighed very loudly, looking around at the mess.  
  
"If I EVER take zis long to get ready, or make as much of a mess as she is, zen I hope I have a good reason." He thought.  
  
"So I vas zinking, if you vant, ve can postpone zis until next Friday. Zat vay you haff an entire veek to find an outfit, and I can go to sleep." "I'll be ready in a moment, Fuzzy." She said from behind her closet door.  
  
"Ja. Strangely, zat sounds familiar." He said. She'd said that exact thing about ten times in at least as many minutes.  
  
Then she stepped from behind the door, and Kurt's heart stopped beating for a moment. He felt as if all of the blood in his body had frozen, and he was about to break. She was breathtaking. She had on a long, black skirt with a slit in it so that you could see most of her left leg. Her blouse was dark, but made of some type of shiny material that Kurt was sure probably felt like silk. Her hair was pulled up and pinned back. She looked more beautiful than Kurt had ever seen her, and try as he might, he'd never be able to shake that image out of his head.  
  
"Ja. You look nice." He said absentmindedly. "Can ve go now?"  
  
Kitty giggled. The look on Kurt's face told her how much his words were lying. She found herself thinking for the first time that Kurt looked handsome. He was wearing a pair of dark kaki pants and black sweater, and his long hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail. Kitty thought to herself that she was going to have to find him a girlfriend sometime soon. He was such a great guy, and it was a shame that he didn't have anyone in his life.  
  
"Yeah, we can go now." She said.  
  
Kurt got off of her bed, and came to wear she was standing. He reached for her, and for a moment she pulled back. She thought he was going to kiss her or something. Instead he simply put his hands on her shoulders, and suddenly they were in the woods right outside of town. She looked around for a moment, suddenly cold. She was disoriented, and threw Kurt an annoyed look.  
  
"You know, you should, like, warn me or something when you're going to do that." She said, jokingly punching his arm.  
  
"Nein! Zat vould take all the fun out of the surprise!" he said, laughing.  
  
"Well, you know you didn't even give me time to grab a jacket." She said. It was cold outside and she was shivering.  
  
Kurt suddenly disappeared, and reappeared a moment later. He had her jacket in hand, and put it on her shoulders.  
  
"My apologies, Katzchen!" he said. "I didn't mean to leave you cold."  
  
"It's 'kay." She said, and with that the two of them walked out of the woods, and into town.  
  
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Scott and Jean were sitting at the table, both of them perusing the menu. Jean looked up at Scott and smiled. Her face felt hot, and she wondered why she had never seriously pursued him before. She was just glad that Scott wasn't looking at her then to see the big smile she had on.  
  
"So what are you getting?" he asked.  
  
"Four cheese pasta. I think." She said. "What about you?"  
  
"Um, lasagna." He said. "Jean, why were you mad at me?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" she asked, faintly blushing.  
  
"Well, you've acted pretty mad at me for the past couple of weeks. I was just wondering what I did. I mean, I am paying for this wonderful dinner we'll eventually order so that I can make it up to you. I just wish I knew what I was apologizing for."  
  
"Scott, will you quit playing around."  
  
He smiled slightly, and asked, "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I'm a telepath, Scott. I know what you're trying to get me to say."  
  
"Would you stop using your powers! You're taking all of the romance out of the evening!" he whispered.  
  
Jean laughed, and reached across the table, grabbing his hand.  
  
"I was being stupid and jealous because I thought there was something between you and Rogue."  
  
"There now, was that so hard?" he asked, and smiled back at her.  
  
"Get that grin off your face and make up your mind, Shades." She teased, releasing his hand. She was pulling it back towards her when Scott reached out and quickly grabbed it.  
  
"Seriously, Red. Thanks." He said.  
  
Dinner came, and they began talking about school and their friends. As Scott looked through the window, he saw Kurt and Kitty walking towards the restaurant. He smirked and pointed it out to Jean, who looked over her shoulder and saw the couple. She thought about how good they looked together, and well one complemented the other. She just hoped that the two of them would figure it out someday.  
  
Kurt looked over and found that he and Kitty were being spied on. He waved at Scott, and grinned.  
  
"Hey, looks like ve're not all zhat alone." He said through his teeth. "Look over zhere!"  
  
"Oh, that is, like, so cute. Don't they look so good together?" she asked.  
  
"Jah. Vould you like to eat vith zem?" he asked.  
  
"Nah, that's cool. But let's go say hi."  
  
"Jah." He said. "I could tease zem!"  
  
"Don't you dare, Elf." She said, giggling.  
  
They walked over to where Scott and Jean were sitting.  
  
"Hey guys!" Kitty said.  
  
"Hi Kitty, hi Kurt." said Jean.  
  
"What are you two up to tonight?" asked Scott.  
  
"Well, I promised Kurt a movie, and he promised me dinner." Kitty said.  
  
"Are you guys eating here?" asked Scott.  
  
"No, ve just like standing in restaurants and vatching people eat ze food."  
  
Jean laughed. "Obviously, Kurt's feeling much better."  
  
"Apparently. How's the leg, Kurt?" Scott asked.  
  
"It's okay. I can't vait until zis stupid limp goes avay." Kurt answered.  
  
"Well, would you two like to join us?"  
  
Kitty and Kurt looked at each other. Both were thinking the same thing. Neither of them wanted to bother Scott and Jean on their first date.  
  
"It's okay, you wouldn't be bothering us." Said Jean with a wink. "Scott here has already made it pretty apparent how he feels about me."  
  
"Jean. . ." said Scott, sounding exasperated, although he couldn't be happier. "You guys wouldn't be bothering us if you want to join us."  
  
"Vell, okay, if zat's cool vith you, Katzchen." He said, turning to Kitty.  
  
Kitty was already telling the host that they were going to be joining the couple. After a few minutes, the host had brought to extra chairs to the table, and the four were sitting together. Scott talked to Kurt, quietly, about the conversation he and Jean had, and Kitty was talking to Jean about Lance. Soon, dinner was ordered, and they were all eating. Kurt kept looking at Kitty during her conversation with Jean, and Jean couldn't help but pick up on his feelings for Kitty. She silently wished her friend the best of luck, and kept up her end of the conversation. All in all, the four were having a wonderful time, not realizing that hateful eyes were watching them.  
  
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Lance had been walking down Main Street with Todd and Pietro, all of them looking around for something to do. They had finally agreed to go to the movies, and had started walking in that direction. They were almost there when Pietro looked across the street at a restaurant and stopped dead in his tracks.  
  
"Whoa. Lance-look-over-there." He said. "Is-that-Pretty-Kitty-and-the- fuzz-brain-at-dinner?"  
  
Lance quickly whipped his head around and looked inside the restaurant. Sure enough, there was Kurt and Kitty. They were seated at a table with the two oldest X-Dorks. They were sitting there, talking to each other, and he saw Kitty laughing and looking at Kurt the way she used to look at him. He felt his mouth pull back as he bared his teeth, and his blood boiled at the sight of them together.  
  
"Wow-dude. She-moves-fast." Pietro said, and then Todd laughed.  
  
Lance rounded on his friends, a look of pure rage on his face.  
  
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Lance yelled. People walking by stopped and looked at them.  
  
"Lance, dude, don't freak out. Not here, man."  
  
"Then where, Toad?" he asked.  
  
"What-do-ya-wanna-do-Lance?" Pietro asked, smiling. He could feel a fight coming, and was extremely excited over the possibility.  
  
Lance turned, looking at Kitty and Kurt together. Kurt leaned over, and whispered something in Kitty's ear. She listened with a smile on her face, and then pulled back and playfully slapped at him. Lance gritted his teeth and turned back to a smiling Pietro and confused Todd. "We wait for them to leave." He said, balling his fists.  
  
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Jean and Scott had paid, and walked out of the restaurant, opting out of dessert and leaving for a romantic walk through town. Kurt and Kitty, meanwhile, both ordered dessert. They finished dessert, and waited for the waiter to bring them their check.  
  
"Oh! I forgot my purse!" she said.  
  
"Vell, I'm paying for dinner, so it doesn't matter." He said.  
  
"Well, I'm paying for the movie, so it, like, does matter."  
  
"So you conveniently forgot your money, Katzchen. Hmm. . ." he said, joking.  
  
"Don't even start with me, Kurt. See this is what happens when you teleport us without warning me."  
  
"Vell, don't vorry. I'll pay for ze movie." He said, paying the waiter for dinner and checking his wallet to see how much money he had left over.  
  
"No! I told you! The movie is my treat." She said.  
  
"Vell, zen ve haff to go back to ze mansion."  
  
"So take me back to the mansion, because you're not paying for this movie. That would officially make this a date, and this is not a date." She joked, and got up to go to the restroom. She left so fast that she didn't see Kurt blush.  
  
They met at the entrance to the restaurant, and walked out, Kurt snagging two mints from the host's station. They walked back towards the woods right out of town. They didn't have a clue that they were being followed. Lance, Pietro, and Todd were quiet so that Kitty and Kurt wouldn't hear them. They moved in the shadows of the street, some fifty feet behind the couple. With every second, Lance felt the rage within him build. He couldn't believe that Kitty had left him for that fuzzy freak. That kid was a complete mess, Lance thought. He couldn't understand how Kitty could even stand to be close to that kid. She had told him how much he bothered her, and had complained about his flirting too many times to count. Then a horrible thought occurred to him. What if all that time she had been seeing Kurt behind his back. What if the entire thing had just been a cover so that he wouldn't find out?  
  
"The two even live with each other!" he thought to himself, and felt the hatred build in him even more.  
  
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Jean and Scott had walked out of the restaurant to the edge of town. Right outside of town was a small park, with a lit walkway through the woods. In the center of the park was a small lake with a gazebo, where a jazz band would sometimes play. They were walking through this park now. There was no jazz band, and the two were happy to find out that they were alone. They sat on a bench together, watching the fountain in the middle of the lake. Lights were shining through it, and periodically the fountain would change colors as the lights did. The weather was cool and breezy, and Jean pulled close to Scott, letting him put his arm around her. She liked the warmth, and the feeling of Scott holding her.  
  
"Jean. . . " Scott began.  
  
"Yeah?" she asked.  
  
"Listen, I know you think I've told you how I feel. . . "  
  
"Mhm?"  
  
". . . but I haven't. I've had feelings for you for a pretty long time now. I've never really had the courage to tell you."  
  
"I know, Scott."  
  
"I know that you know. But I want to tell you anyway."  
  
"Okay, Scott."  
  
"Well, listen, I know you just got out of a relationship with Duncan, and God knows that I don't want to be. . . "  
  
". . . the rebound guy." She finished.  
  
Scott looked at her, and she giggled.  
  
"I didn't read your mind on that one."  
  
He smiled and continued. "You're right, I don't want to be the rebound guy. But, I. . . like. . .you a lot. And I was wondering, now that you're single, if. . . "  
  
He never got to finish. She leaned in a kissed him, and he settled into it.  
  
"Ah, hell. She already knows." He thought, and heard in his head, "I'd love to be your girlfriend. Oh, and I love you too, Scott."  
  
Neither of them noticed Kurt and Kitty passing a couple hundred yards behind them. And they were still kissing when three figures followed the same direction as Kurt and Kitty. Finally, they broke the kiss. They went on whispering things to each other, although no one could have possibly heard them. But they felt comfortable with each other, and whispered promises and truths. Scott leaned over to kiss her again, and she returned it before suddenly pulling away suddenly.  
  
"Kurt! Scott, he's going to kill him!" she screamed.  
  
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Kurt and Kitty had just reached the woods. Kurt reached towards Kitty, and she towards him, when they both heard a voice that sent chills down their spines.  
  
"Get you hands off my girlfriend, freak!" The voice said, and suddenly the ground rumbled, and they fell.  
  
Kurt hit the ground hard, and his head hit a rock, making it bleed. He felt the bruises that remained on his body from the danger room cry out in anger. He shook his head, and tried to stand up so that he could see his opponent.  
  
Lance grinned, and Pietro stepped in. Pietro ran at Kitty, grabbing her, and hurried away from the scene, leaving Kurt with Lance and Todd. As soon as Kurt got to his feet, he heard someone laugh, and once again he was knocked to the ground. This time he could feel a heavy weight on his back, and then that heavy weight flipped him over, and he was looking at Todd.  
  
"Toad?" he asked, dazed, before Todd used his back legs to throw him into a tree.  
  
Kitty phased, and Pietro felt her slide right through him. At the same moment, he felt as if his entire body had just been plugged into an electrical socket. He stopped running all of a sudden, although his momentum kept him moving. He fell right into a tree, and it knocked him out.  
  
Kurt picked himself up off of the ground, knowing what was happening now. He surveyed the scene quickly, and saw both Todd and Lance. Todd let Kurt get to his feet, and then jumped at him again. This time Kurt was ready. He waited until Todd got close and then teleported out of the way. Todd yelled, and turned just in time to catch the tree with his feet instead of the tree smashing his head. It was a vain effort to avoid injury, however. Kurt had teleported just two feet to the left of the tree, and brought his ankle down on Todd's head. Todd crumpled to the ground, but managed to lash out at Kurt with his tongue. He flipped Kurt into the air with his tongue, but right before Kurt hit the ground, he teleported to the air over Todd. He brought his elbow down on Todd's midsection, making Todd yelp with pain.  
  
He was then pulled off and thrown against a tree by Lance. Lance slammed his foot into the ground, the tremors causing earth and rocks to be thrown up into Kurt's face. The rocks scraped across Kurt's face, and the dirt blinded him. Lance brought his foot back down, and the earth opened up underneath Kurt. He fell, and then 'ported about fifteen feet away, and fell to the ground. Blood was beginning to leak out of his old wounds, and some fresh ones.  
  
Kitty ran back through the woods towards her friend. She could feel the ground shake, and knew that Lance was there. She hurried, hoping she'd get there in time to help her friend.  
  
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Fifteen minutes of fluff, 2 minutes of action. Well, the romance is cooler anyhow. Otherwise, I'd just copy down transcripts of the show. Long chapter, though, and I promise there will be more action next chapter. So anyhow, review (if ya feel like it) and tell me how I did. I'm accepting anonymous reviews now (didn't know that I should have in the first place), so hope you enjoyed. 


	9. A Demon Unleashed and Contained

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution.  
  
Note: Okay, so this is the last chapter of "The Good Part Is Over," which is the prequel to "Welcome Home." I'll be writing a sequel to "Welcome Home" that will be called "Change of Heart." After that, I have one more story to add to these, probably be calling it "Ever After." Thanks for all of your encouraging words, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. R/R please?  
  
Another note: I have action and dialogue taking place near the end of the chapter, where the dialogue is split into the action. Hope it's not too confusing. Let me know if it is.  
  
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Kitty ran through the forest. Branches were hitting her in the face, and she kept stumbling, almost falling to the rocky earth. It was dark out, and she was having problems seeing ahead. Pietro had ripped off her jacket when he grabbed her, and she was freezing cold. She heard screaming up ahead, not knowing how far away it was. The ground rumbled and shook, and she thought to herself that if she didn't hurry up, she was going to lose her best friend. She knew how angry Lance could get. She couldn't imagine why he was so angry, and she knew she had to be quick. She was afraid. She thought, felt, and knew in her heart that Lance was so angry that he was going to kill Kurt.  
  
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"Kurt! Scott, he's going to kill him!" Jean screamed suddenly.  
  
Scott jumped, not expecting the outburst of fear. He had been leaning in to kiss Jean again. This night had gone perfectly for Scott. He had been on a date with Jean. He had told her how he felt about her, and she in turn told him that she loved him too. His night couldn't have gone better.  
  
"What are you talking about, Jean?" he asked, alarmed.  
  
"Lance! He's fighting with Kurt right now, and he's trying to kill him." She answered, putting her hands to her temples and concentrating.  
  
Scott bolted upright. His breath caught in his throat as he stood up and looked around.  
  
"Where are they, Jean?" he asked.  
  
"I. . . can't tell. They're close."  
  
"Hurry up, Jean!"  
  
"I'm trying." She said, through gritted teeth.  
  
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Kurt fell to the ground. He could feel blood on his head, and he knew that the wound on his forehead had opened up again. Either that or he had a brand new one. As he wiped the blood from his forehead, he could feel the earth tremble again. He stepped away from the tree in front of him as Lance brought a fallen branch down on his head. Kurt's world exploded with pain. It was as if every cell in his body cried out against the attack. He stumbled away, while Lance taunted him.  
  
"So. . . you thought that after we broke up, you could just put your freak, three fingered hand all over my girlfriend, huh?" he asked, swinging the branch at Kurt, who dodged out of its way. He was a little slow, but he was beginning to get his senses back.  
  
"Vhat did you do vith Kitty?" he asked. He looked around, feeling a sense of his surroundings again. His head was clearing, the pain bringing clarity.  
  
"Oh, Pietro just took her for a run. I'll deal with her when I'm done with you freak." Lance said, putting special emphasis on that last word. He began to advance on Kurt.  
  
Kurt froze. "Don't you ever call me zat again." He ran at Lance, and jumped into the air. Lance was unprepared for the attack, and howled as Kurt's foot struck his face. He jumped back, holding his jaw.  
  
"Looks like Fuzzy is ready to fight back, huh? It's about time. Been wantin' to do this for awhile." Lance said, and grinned.  
  
Lance focused, and the ground shook. Two rips formed in the earth, each on one side of Kurt. Kurt looked left and right, and then the ground began to fall in around him. He jumped to the base of a tree on a side of the chasm, and began to climb the tree. Lance followed, tearing the ground up underneath the tree. The dirt flew aside, leaving only the exposed roots of the tree showing. With a push, Lance shoved the tree over, and it began to fall. Kurt teleported off of the tree onto another, and launched himself down at Lance. He caught Lance around the neck, doubled up, and threw him into the ground. Lance groaned as Kurt flipped around and brought his knee down on his midsection. Now it was Lance's turn to scream, if only he wasn't gasping for air. He took a look at Kurt, and grabbed his hair. Kurt had time to think "I should 'port," when he was flipped over, and Lance brought his open hand down on his throat.  
  
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Jean and Scott ran from the gazebo. As they ran, Jean called to Professor Xavier.  
  
"Professor! Professor! I think that Lance Alvers is trying to kill Kurt!" she thought at him.  
  
Miles away, Professor X put down the book he had been reading, and listened to Jean's message. His eyes opened wide and then shut. With all of his energy, he felt for Kurt. His mind scanned downtown Bayville, and the surrounding areas. He finally locked on Kurt, and heard his thoughts. Soon he locked down on Lance, and heard his thoughts. He was suddenly aware that Jean was right. Lance meant to kill Kurt.  
  
"Jean! I hear you! Where are you now?" he asked.  
  
"Scott and I are running from the park. I can't get a lock on where they are! Can you help?" she thought.  
  
"Yes, Jean. I'm sending you an image of where they are. Hurry and help Kurt. He's hurt. Help is on the way." He thought back to her, and then cut off his link with her. He wheeled around to the door, and then reached out to Logan and Ororo with his mind. "Logan, Ororo, please listen to me! You must go to the park outside of town! Kurt is under attack, and is badly injured. You must help him. Jean and Scott are already on their way! Now hurry!"  
  
No sooner had he finished than he heard the rev of a motorcycle, and the sound of the wind picking up. He knew that Storm and Wolverine were on their way. He reached out to Lance, trying to help Kurt.  
  
Jean grabbed Scott's hand, turning him around. "No! Scott, we're going the wrong way! This way!" She said as she pulled him along.  
  
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Lance reached his feet first, and kicked Kurt in the back of the head. Kurt howled and held onto his head, looking at Lance with pain and venom in his eyes.  
  
"I'm going to kill you." Lance said. Kurt could see blankness in his eyes, as if they were dead. He knew that Lance wasn't lying. He swept Lance to the ground with his tail, holding him there with it. He got up, and looked at Lance.  
  
"Let me return ze favor!" he yelled, and kicked Lance in the face. Then grabbing onto him with his tail, he picked him up.  
  
"Vhere is Kitty! Tell me now!"  
  
"What's wrong Kurt?" asked Lance, and then spit blood in Kurt's face. "Afraid for poor little Pretty Kitty?"  
  
Kurt looked at Lance for a moment, before dropping him. Lance hit the ground, and then picked himself up.  
  
"Kitty?!? Vhere are you?!?" Kurt yelled, and then was bumrushed by Lance. They skid along the ground, and when they stopped, they could both hear Kitty.  
  
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Kitty ran and ran, hoping that she was getting closer to finding Kurt and Lance. She looked around. Everywhere she saw looked familiar. She didn't know if she was going towards the entrance to the woods, or just getting lost deeper within them. She stopped, turning around, taking in her surroundings. Tears came to her eyes, and she fell to her knees. She hit the ground out of frustration. She kneeled there, breathing, when she heard him calling her.  
  
"Kitty?!? Vhere are you?!?"  
  
She looked in the direction of the voice, got up, and ran faster than she had ever ran in her life.  
  
"I'm here, Kurt! I'm coming!" she yelled.  
  
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Lance and Kurt looked in the direction of the voice, and could see a figure running through the woods towards them. Lance looked at Kurt.  
  
"Well, maybe I can take care of two birds with one stone." He said, before hefting Kurt off of the ground and throwing him as far as he could.  
  
Kitty literally ran into him. He flew threw the air, and fell at her feet. She didn't even see him until she tripped over him. She picked herself up, and looked over her friend. He was barely conscious. His breathing was shallow, and his fur was almost completely matted with blood.  
  
"Doesn't look so pretty now, does he Kitty?" Lance asked, standing over her.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" She screamed.  
  
"I want you to feel pain, Kitty. It's the same pain I felt when I saw you and that demon at dinner!" he said.  
  
"Kurt's my friend, moron! We're not together!" she screamed.  
  
"What? You think I'm stupid, Kitty? I'm not! Don't lie to me!"  
  
"I'm not lying!"  
  
Kurt had stood up by this time. Kitty and Lance were so focused on each other that neither one realized he had gotten up. He shook his head, trying desperately to clear it.  
  
"Yes you are! Admit it! You've been seeing Kurt behind my back for the last couple of weeks, haven't ya?" "No I haven't! Listen to me! He's just my friend!"  
  
Lance looked over at Kurt, standing up, shaking his head. Lance pushed Kitty aside, and lunged at Kurt. Kitty grabbed onto Lance just before his fist landed on Kurt's face. He pushed her back, and slammed his foot onto the ground. A hole appeared around Kitty's feet, and she fell into it. She screamed, and then Kurt heard nothing. He turned back to Lance, and the rage within him let loose. He made a noise that could only be described as a bellow, but it was so much more than that. Behind it was a lifetime of abuse and discrimination, a lifetime of loneliness. Lance backed up from the power and fury of that sound. He was suddenly afraid. Kurt seemed much more a creature of his likeness than the teenaged mutant that he knew.  
  
Kurt flew at him, pummeling his face with his hands. Lance tried to defend himself, tried to use his power. But it was in vain. Kurt continued to punch and kick at Lance, every strike hitting his target. Lance staggered backwards from the attack, completely off balance, and fell backwards to the ground.  
  
"If she is hurt, I'll kill you! I swear I vill!" Kurt screamed.  
  
Lance's head cleared for just a moment, and he took advantage of it to focus all of his powers and energy at creating a rip in the earth under Kurt. In Lance's mind, he saw a breach in the ground that would go on and on to a rocky bottom. His powers created that, and in that last moment before it happened, he smiled.  
  
"Die, freak." He said softly, and Kurt looked down upon his doom. He fell into that hole, screamed, and then all was silent. Lance used his powers to fill the hole in with dirt and rock, and suddenly there was no proof that it had ever existed. He turned and did the same to Kitty's hole, hoping that she had died quickly, and with no pain.  
  
Both holes were gone, and Lance surveyed his surroundings. No proof that Kitty and Kurt had ever been there. He smiled, and then his smile disappeared. What had he done, he wondered. He had killed his girlfriend, and he had just realized it. She was buried under the earth, fifty feet down. He hadn't meant for that to happen. He didn't mean to kill her, he. . .  
  
. . . he suddenly heard a growl behind him.  
  
Lance turned around and found Kurt standing there behind him. Kitty was lying on the ground at his feet, unconscious. Kurt grabbed Lance by his shoulders, and suddenly teleported. Lance suddenly felt weakened. Whereas the rest of the X-Men had teleported with Kurt before, Lance never had. It had taken all of the X-Men a lot of time in training to get used to teleporting with Kurt. Kitty and Scott handled it best, even though it still spun their heads sometimes. A battle wearied Lance had no chance. They reappeared next to a tree, which Kurt slammed Lance's head into. And then they teleported again.  
  
"Enjoying ze ride, Avalanche?" Kurt screamed. He kneed Lance in the groin. Lance fell again, and Kurt once more grabbed his shoulders and teleported.  
  
"I am used to teleporting vith passengers, and I find the strain. . . " he said when the reappeared, and then they disappeared again. Kurt had 'ported them next to Kitty again.  
  
". . . almost more zan I can bare!" he screamed, and then teleported one last time.  
  
They appeared in the clearing where the fight originated.  
  
"Vhat it must be like for you, I cannot imagine!" Kurt finished, before releasing Lance. Lance fell to the ground, knocked out. He laid there for a moment, and Kurt kicked him the face. He looked to where he had teleported Kitty, and checked on her. She was going to be fine, he thought himself. And then he fell down, into blackness.  
  
They were all in the same position when Scott and Jean found them.  
  
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Kurt opened his eyes, and saw he was back in the infirmary. Without moving his head, he looked first to his left, and then to his right. Kitty was there, in the room to the right of his. He could see her through the window between their rooms. Storm was bent over her, watching her. Kitty was stretching her neck. She stretched to her left, looked through the window, and found Kurt looking back at her. She thought it was a dream until he smiled at her. With that, she threw off her sheet and ran into his room, phasing through the window.  
  
"Kurt! Oh my God, I'm so happy you're awake!" she screamed, causing pains in Kurt's head. He smiled anyway.  
  
"I'm glad I'm awake, Katzchen."  
  
"Hello, Kurt. How are you feeling?" Ororo asked, walking into the room.  
  
"I hurt. Can I haff some vater?" he asked.  
  
"Of course, hold on!" yelled Kitty, and phased through his door, running down the hall to find Kurt some water.  
  
"How long haff I been out for?" asked Kurt.  
  
"Three days." Said Ororo.  
  
"Jah. Funny."  
  
"I'm serious, Kurt."  
  
Kurt looked at her, amazed. "Zree days?!? Vhat happened?"  
  
"Scott and Jean found you first. By the time Logan and I got there, Jean was trying to help you and Kitty, and Scott was watching over Avalanche."  
  
"Vhere is Lance?" asked Kurt, anger in his eyes. He looked around the infirmary.  
  
"He's not here, Kurt. The Professor brought him back here for a short time. He woke up yesterday. The Professor then modified his memories so he wouldn't remember."  
  
"So he vouldn't remember zat he tried to kill Kitty and I?"  
  
"No, just so that he wouldn't remember the layout of the mansion, or how to get to the subfloors."  
  
"Oh." Kurt thought for a moment, and then put it out of his mind. "Did Kitty visit him?" he asked.  
  
Ororo laughed. "No, Kurt. She actually screamed at the Professor to move him to another floor at least."  
  
Kurt smiled, and then regretted it when the pain set in.  
  
"How long vill I haff to be here?"  
  
"Two weeks."  
  
Now it was Kurt's turn to laugh. Two more weeks. Wonderful. He may as well never have left at all. Then he looked through his window, and saw Kitty coming down the hall with a bottle of water, and a plate of food. Maybe this won't be so bad after all, he thought.  
  
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After the first week in the infirmary (the second time he had landed in there), Kurt was pulling his hair out. He felt fine, but Logan refused to let him leave.  
  
"Look, Logan! I can even valk!" he teased, jumping up and down.  
  
"Rest and relaxation, Elf. That's what you need. Lest you forget, we start your weapons training next week."  
  
"Vhy me? Vhy not someone else first? Scott hasn't even started veaopns training yet!"  
  
"Well, you've proven yourself to me. Scott still has a little way to go."  
  
Kurt smiled, and Logan left the room. As he walked out of the door, Kitty walked in.  
  
"'Scuse me, Half-Pint." He said as she slipped by him.  
  
"So, here's your school work. You need some help?" she said, handing him a stack of papers.  
  
Kurt looked through them before answering. "Nein, I should be fine, Liebchen." He said absentmindedly.  
  
"What does that mean?" she asked.  
  
"Vhat does vhat mean?"  
  
"Liebchen."  
  
"Oh. Never mind. Sorry, I just vant to leave zis place."  
  
"Well, you'll get out soon enough. The bad part's over."  
  
"Nein, ze good part is over." He said. She smiled, not really understanding what he meant. But it sounded sweet anyway.  
  
"I can't believe zat I've missed zis much school and I'm still being promoted to eleventh grade next year." He said. "I just hope zat I heal before I leave zis summer."  
  
"Where are you going?" Kitty asked, suddenly alarmed.  
  
"I'll be living vith my family in Germany."  
  
"How long are you going to be gone for?" she asked, sadly. She feared that he was moving back forever.  
  
"Oh! Just two months, Liebchen. Don't vorry, I'll be back to torment you after two months."  
  
She smiled, and said, "Okay, because I still owe you a movie."  
  
"Somehow, I believe I'll end up paying for it."  
  
"Well, hopefully, next time won't be so painful." She teased, and then tickled him under his ear.  
  
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Well that tied together nicely. Right? Well, I hope you liked this. If you didn't, sorry for the eight chapters of hell. I'd like to thank everyone who read this, and I'd especially like to thank the people who actually reviewed. And as for those people who reviewed almost every chapter (you know who you are ( ) I can't thank you enough. You guys rock so hard I believe you must be made of stone. Anyhow, I'm pretty happy with this story, and I hoped everyone liked it. Hey, watch me kick that dead horse again: I hope you all liked the story. Okay, I'm off to Starbucks. Later. 


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